Although I recognize that the following examples are for first year composition, it is important to note that these examples transfer and translate to other areas as well. That said, as a way to give writing instructors, most who tend to be WEA, ideas on how to at least challenge racist discourse, I am providing a few ideas that should help. Keep in mind that these are simply suggestions, and are not meant to be the answers to the solution. It is important to understand that although most of you will want “an answer as to how to fix this problem,” there is simply not an easy answer. And more importantly, also recognize that asking for “this fix” is a sign of your privilege. Believe me, if curing racism was that easy to fix, brown and black folks would have done it already.

In many cases, first year writing programs are housed in departments of English, thus often making English the largest department at a university. That said, having first-year writing classes acknowledge the presence of racist rhetoric would make a powerful statement to the university, resulting in hopefully other departments to follow. Furthermore, by acknowledging the existence of racism, a writing instructor can help build a sanctuary space for students of color.

As a parent would a child, the writing instructor needs to protect their students. Although this is common sense, the reality is that most instructors do not do this, although they think they do. For example, with good intentions, a teacher may focus on Cesar Chavez and the value of Mexicans while speaking about the civil rights movement. But what they may not realize is that by simply acknowledging one individual, the teacher often times does not realize that they are sending a message that there are not many examples of these types of Mexican American heroes, like Cesar Chavez. In contrast, by acknowledging the everyday Mexican worker, including professors, medical doctors, carpenters, construction workers, and day laborers as heroes, the teacher now acknowledges that there is an array of many different Mexican American heroes.

As a way to support students of color, writing instructors should implement a culturally friendly pedagogy such as coalition pedagogy into their writing classes. Pimentel and Pimentel describe coalition pedagogy as a pedagogy that is used by teachers to empower students of color as well as other marginalized students. As stated in their 2002 essay, “Coalition Pedagogy: Building bonds Between Instructors and Students of Color,” during the first 4–6 weeks of a class, the professor needs to establish an environment where students of color, and other marginalized groups, are provided “a sanctuary space” where they will be protected from attacks from other students.

It is crucial for writing instructors, and in fact all instructors, to implement coalition pedagogy, or something similar, in their classrooms because in doing so, marginalized students often understand that the instructor is aware of the racist rhetoric that commonly haunts many students of color. Additionally, students of color will quickly realize that the instructor is using a pedagogy that embraces and supports their marginalized position.

There are various ways that writing instructors can help develop coalition pedagogy, or another cultural friendly pedagogy, but one way to do so is to manage the material used in the class. For instance, by introducing books like Jabari Mahiri’s Deconstructing Race: Multicultural Education Beyond the Color-Bind and Charise Pimentel’s The (Im)possible Multicultural Teacher: A Critical Approach to Understanding White Teachers’ Multicultural Work, the teacher shows, as both Mahari and Pimentel note, that racist classroom rhetoric/practices are common within most classrooms.

In these books, as well as others, the authors make it clear that they are fully aware of systematic racism, and thus address issues of racism that appear within school settings. By offering students an opportunity to read material such as this, a student of color may feel more empowered, recognizing that the instructor is aware of the racist practices/rhetoric that appear within school settings.

It is super important for the writing instructor to also create assignments that are culturally friendly. One way to do this is for the instructor to recognize the importance of diverse languages and dialects, allowing and even pushing their students to use them when writing their papers. This practice will show the students that their teacher values language diversity.

In addition to asking the students to use a variety of languages and dialects in their writing assignments, the teacher should require the students to be critical of the various racist rhetoric against people of color. For example, a teacher may require their students to write about President Trump’s statement that the Mexicans that are coming to the United States are all criminals and rapists. A teacher requiring an assignment like this sends two important messages: (1) they are fully aware of the racist rhetoric that exists against people of color, and (2) they want their students to think critically against this racist rhetoric. Once again by requiring assignments as these, the teacher is empowering students of color.